Dammu

Dammu (also spelled Dhammu, transl. Guts) is a 2012 Indian Telugu-language action drama co-written and directed by Boyapati Srinu. It stars N. T. Rama Rao Jr., Trisha and Karthika Nair, with a large supporting cast including Nassar, Sampath Raj, Rahul Dev, Brahmanandam, Ali, Bhanupriya, Kota Srinivasa Rao and Venu Thottempudi. It was released on 27 April 2012 to mixed-to-negative reviews.

Story

Rama Chandra, an orphan, falls for Sathya, a rich girl who insists that family background matters. When he hears that a powerful royal family, the Suryavamsis, is looking to adopt an heir, he seizes the chance. He soon discovers the family’s violent past, its bitter feud with the rival Chandravamsi clan, and the thousands of people who now depend on him. He also learns a surprising truth about his own origins.

Casting

Shruti Haasan was originally signed as the female lead but left over date issues, and Kajal Aggarwal could not give the bulk dates required. Trisha was finalised as the first female lead.

Music

M. M. Keeravani composed the music, with all lyrics by Chandrabose. The soundtrack was launched at Shilpakala Vedika in Hyderabad on 29 March 2012, with audio rights held by Vel Records and Sony Music.

Release

The Telugu and Tamil versions opened on 27 April 2012 on about 2,550 screens worldwide, a Tollywood record at the time, including more than 140 theatres in Karnataka.

Reception

Critics praised the performances and action but faulted the writing, the excessive violence and the double-meaning dialogue. Sify praised NTR Jr.’s charged-up performance, while Rediff gave it 2.5 out of 5 for its outdated story. According to the source, its satellite and digital rights sold for ₹6.6 crore, the highest for any film in 2012. It was dubbed into Tamil as Singamagan.

Sources: Wikipedia and Wikidata.